My Tout Wars Draft & Hold continues to chug along (part 1 here). For a refresher, it’s 50 rounds and no in season waivers. We swap AVG for OBP. Let’s see how the roster is rounding out.
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Hitting:
Pitching:
It’s a pretty even-Steven team. I’m middle of the road in the War Room for most hitting categories. I’m happy enough to build boring balance in a marathon league like this. My pitching could be pretty solid but much of my rotation bears risks. Here’s how I rounded out my starting roster.
13.189 Shota Imanaga. We’re getting into the section of the draft called “Guy that still has a job, and we liked in previous seasons.” Imanaga’s true skill is probably somewhere between his 2024 and 2025.
14.202 Christian Walker. Boring-vet-that-can-provide-baseline-power-ass pick here.
15.218 Jac Caglianone. It’s been a rather conservative draft for me thus far. I need to start taking some chances on guys that could provide serious value if they figure it out. I’m always happy to do that with last year’s highly touted prospects at low, low prices.
16.232 Brendan Donovan. Looking for an OBP bump from a guy in a pretty decent lineup.
17.249 Spencer Steer. Folks project him as the odd man out in the Reds lineup, but I don’t see how a healthy Steer doesn’t beat out one of Bleday, Marte, or Hayes. His sneaky speed is a major need for my build so far.
18.262 Jojo Romero. I’ve been holding my breath to avoid the fart stink of what’s left at RP, but I’m going to start running out of runway if I want to have any relievers with a shot at saves. Reading the tea leaves is about all I can point to for going Romero over O’Brien.
19.279 Dylan Beavers. I debated Justin Crawford with this pick. I thought I could wait a round. DVR scooped him six picks later. Crawford was one of the only remaining players who could help fix my steals deficit. Beavers is a bit of a mystery box. He could be anything. Even a boat that steals almost as many bases as Crawford. It’s weird how decisions in the late 200s can feel more impactful than the first rounds.
20.292 Bailey Ober. A hip injury sank Ober’s 2025. I’ll gamble on him finding the form that had him going 200 picks earlier last season.
21.309 Cedric Mullins. I’m going to have to chase speed with a bunch of picks. The hope is that he plays well early while still healthy.
22.322 Michael Wacha. Wacha has settled in over the last few seasons as a quietly reliable back of the rotation starter. You run out of pitching pretty much by May in a D&H. Every second pick is probably going to be a pitcher for me from here out.
23.339 Mike Yastrzemski. Atlanta feels like a great fit for Yaz to platoon effectively. It’s hard to field a full outfield all year, so I prefer to pony up on useful backups.
24.352 Kirby Yates. A reunion with pitching coach Mike Maddux, who revived Yates with Texas, and minimal competition. Worth a dart throw.
25.369 Anthony Volpe. I’d be lying if I said I have much faith in my paisan coming off shoulder surgery. He has a chance to get some steals if I’m tanking in the category.
I invested a lot in Volpe fantasy wise… It’s this year or never for me.
Nice to find potential 20-20 bat late.
I like not having to count on him. If I get some power and speed after another starter goes down, it’s a pretty big win.